Mage Character Creation
Application Types *Standard application - follow the rules on this page *Simplified Mage Creation - for starting players, players new to Mage, or players who are not familiar with the rule set used in Mage. *Advanced Disciple Creation - by request of the ST, or for a specific in-game purpose *Adept Creation - by request of the ST only Defining Traits For starts you must select your Defining Traits, as follows. 'Concept' : Every human (or kinfolk) is unique, but the concept of a character lets you get a handle on core motives and design elements. Remember that mages spring from human and kinfolk stock and Awaken into a much broader world. Therefore, there's more to a mage than just their outlook on magic. Remember to define who this person was and is, how they live and lived and what their relation was or is with the mortal and Garou world (for instance, what do you do for a living? Work, school, bum?). A concept is largely fleshed out when the history is written. Writing down your concept is not required (though a history is), it's simply the first thinking step. 'Mage Traditions' : Once Awakened, most mages train in a particular style of magical arts. These heritages determine the sorts of magic that the mage uses, but they also heavily influence the mage's outlook on ethics, philosophy, belief, science, worldly matters and metaphysical theory as well. Your character is not required to have a Tradition and may be an individual who breaks from these traditional standards, or has wholly learned magic on their own after their Awakening; these are usually refered to as 'Orphan' mages. : In Dusk, only Tradition mages, Hollow Ones, and Orphans are permitted. A description of each tradition can be found here. Hollow Ones and Orphans are often very different from their Traditions counterparts and have their own beliefs and styles. Each character is likely to be vastly different in ideas from another, particularly in the case of Orphans. : Note that all traditions have their own requirements for choosing members; these are listed on the Tradition Requirements page. Please check this before applying. '' 'Essence (Avatar Archetype) : Although mages guide their powers though enlightened will and belief, they are still influenced by the patterns of the universe echoed in their own souls. Each mage's Awakened Avatar grants the mage the gift of magical power, but it too shapes the mage's approach to magic. Therefore, the Essence is a roleplaying aspect that determines the direction of the characters magical inner self. This Essence influences the mage's path to Ascention. There are four Essence archtypes to select from, as following. Dynamic, Pattern, Primordial, and Questing. Descriptions for these can be found on pg. 94-95 of the Mage core book. : The most common Essences are Dynamic and Pattern. Most mages should be one of these two Essences. '''Nature and Demeanor : Just as a character's Concept describes their job or place in society, the Nature and Demeanor flesh out the character's personality and motives. Obviously, people are too complex to be described in a couple of words, but you can establish some basic behaviors for your character with these Archetypes. The character's Nature represents her inward self, the hidden personality that reflects the characters true goals and meshes with the Essence to drive the individual forward. The Demeanor is a mask, a facade that the character wears in personality to show to the world. A list of available Archetypes can be found on pg. 96-101 in the Mage core book. You can also find an expanded list on Death Quaker's Resource Site. . Creating the Sheet 'Selecting Attributes' *Prioritize the three categories (7/5/3). *No statistics above 5. *All Attributes start with one automatic dot *Choose Physical Traits: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina *Choose Social Traits: Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance *Choose Mental Traits: Perception, Intelligence, Wits 'Selecting Abilities' *Prioritize the three categories (13/9/5) between Talents, Skills, and Knowledges. *Distribute your points one category at a time. *No statistics above 3 at this step (they may be increased above three with freebies). *In addition to the above, characters start with up to 3 dots in lores that directly correspond with their character type and or history. 'Other Traits' *'Arete: '''Characters start with an Arete of 1. Freebies may be used to increase it to a maximum of 2 on creation, 3 with more than three paragraphs of history. *'Willpower: Characters start with a willpower of 5. *Backgrounds:' Each character has 7 dots to distribute into backgrounds. Please refer to the link for information on limits on Backgrounds. Up to 3 points in Adversarial Backgrounds may be taken, if that many Freebie points are spent in Backgrounds. Any more than this counts against your Flaws total. . 'Magical Traits' *'Quintessence: Characters start with a quintessence pool equal to their Avatar Background. *Spheres: Characters start with 5 dots to distribute in their Spheres. Tradition Mages automatically gain one dot in their specialty Sphere, and Orphans may select any sphere as their specialty sphere. *Rotes: Every starting mage begins with 10 dots in rotes, plus 3 per sphere dot. *'''Foci: '''Characters must select Foci for each of their spheres. Foci are the tools and techniques the mage uses to work magic. Further explanations are on the Paradigm page, linked below. *Paradigm: Characters must detail their character's paradigm in a simple paragraph, with 2-4 Hooks defined -- phrases that summarize their views on magic. *Resonance Traits: A mage starts with three traits in Resonance, with one dot in each category. . '''Finishing Touches *'Merits and Flaws: '''A list of Mage Merits & Flaws is available here. Using merits to 'stack' benefits will result in application denial -- please don't use your merits to make one dice pool or one small group of dice pools ungodly. You cannot take more than 7 points in Flaws. *'Freebie Points: Characters get 15 freebie points to flesh out the character, with at least a paragraph of history a character receives an additional 10 freebie points. Additional freebie points may be awarded by the ST for exceptional history or development. '''Please track all freebie costs/spending on your sheet under the XP section. This is required for approval. . 'Freebie Point Costs' ''Note that in places these rules differ from book costs. '' *Attributes cost 5 per dot. *Abilities cost 2 per dot (normal or secondary). *Spheres cost 7 per dot. *Backgrounds cost 1 per dot. *Arete costs 5 per dot. *Willpower costs 1 per point. *Rotes cost 1 freebie per 2 dots. *Additional starting Quintessence costs 1 freebie point for 4 quintessence to a maximum of 8. Category:Mage Category:Creation Category:Rules